After 40 years, the John Deere dealership in Ashley, North Dakota has moved, but not far. About a mile down the road, over 250 people recently gathered to celebrate the grand opening of Green Iron Equipment’s new $2 million facility. USDA Rural Development helped finance the project by partnering with a local cooperative, KEM Electric. Through the Rural Economic Development Loan Program, Green Iron Equipment received a $740,000 loan.

The original dealership consisted of four separate buildings in downtown Ashley. Two of those structures housed small service shops that could not accommodate large farm machinery.

“As sales and service requirements continued to grow, we outgrew our facilities,” said Lyle Fey, Green Iron Equipment manager. “We simply ran out of space to meet our customers’ needs.”

More than tripling the size of Green Iron’s previous space, the new 127×150 foot building is complete with a showroom, parts area, sales department and even an overhead crane in the shop. There is more than enough room to adequately service farm equipment that continues to increase in size. Efficiency has also greatly improved at the dealership as all areas of operation; sales, parts and service; are under one roof.

Due to the expansion, Green Iron plans to almost double their staff by adding up to eight more jobs. In a community of less than 800 people, this project is providing big benefits.